Competing with his words

WLHS graduate Tyler Stenson will compete for his third-straight award for song writing

By Nicole DeCosta

The West Linn Tidings, Feb 12, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Tyler Stenson holds his journal in which he writes songs that have earned him the Portland Songwriter of the Year award the past two years.

VERN UYETAKE / West Linn Tidings

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A year ago Tyler Stenson sold screen-printed leather wallets with a company he owned with his brother. Now the 27 year old is hoping to have his own wallet just thick enough to support his full-time music career.

A singer-songwriter, Stenson will compete Feb. 19 to become Portland’s Songwriter of the Year, a title he’s held for the past two consecutive years. The contest – put on by the Portland Songwriters Association – is based on melody, lyrics and song structure – all things this guitarist has been perfecting for 10 years.

“I have yet to write an emotionally generic song. My (songs) are biographical to a fault,” said Stenson, a graduate of West Linn High School. “My friends say (that) if you listen to my catalog from start to finish you can tell who I was dating and where I was living. … My mom even listens to my stuff to keep tabs on me.”

Stenson describes his music as lyrically-driven, eloquent Americana.

“I don’t claim to be deep or poetic,” he said. “I’m just saying simple things in unique ways.”

And the local music community has taken note. When performing around Portland, Stenson is known for his uncomplicated yet sophisticated stage presence – himself, a stool, a guitar and large screen displaying his song lyrics.

“It’s like reading an album jacket,” he said.

His latest mellow CD, “See That Gleam,” is appropriately titled after the silver lining that shines from every downpour in life.

“‘Cause the water looked like cellophane reflecting stars back into space / Your eyes look that way to me,” he sings on the melodic lullaby Cellophane. “Look there / See that gleam? / It’s the sun and your eyes the beam / All out streams rise off your face and / All I see is all your lace.”

More than making people bob their heads to the beat, Stenson said he hopes his music makes people think.

West Linn resident Kelsey Watters went to high school with Stenson and has followed his career for years.

“I was just listening to him last night,” she said. “I’ve been humming all day. I love local music and acoustic talent.”

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